March 20th 2014 Simon Welsh, the poet arrested for singing outside the gate of Cuadrilla’s oil exploration site in Balcombe, explained in verse this afternoon why he thought he had done nothing wrong. Mr Welsh, 34, of High Street, Balcombe, went into the witness box at Brighton Magistrates […]
The judge at the trial of Simon Welsh, the poet arrested while singing at the Balcombe anti-fracking protests, has ruled there is a case to answer and the hearing should continue. Mr Welsh, 34, of High Street, Balcombe, denies he failed to comply with a condition on protesting […]
19th March 2014 The judge at the trial of Simon Welsh, the Balcombe poet arrested at an anti-fracking demonstration while singing a protest song, has retired to consider whether to dismiss the case halfway through. Defence barrister, Tom Wainwright argued there was no case to answer because the […]
19th March 2014 Brighton Magistrates Court heard this morning how poet Simon Welsh was arrested at the Balcombe anti-fracking demonstrations, while leading a group of singers in the Balcombe anthem. This was a protest song written by Mr Welsh and sung to the tune of Jerusalem. Mr Walsh, 34, […]
18th March 2014 The former chief constable of Sussex explained this afternoon that he imposed restrictions on anti-fracking protesters at Balcombe because he believed the demonstrations would cause serious disruption to the life of the local community. Martin Richards, who retired from the police a week ago, was […]
18th March 2014 The former Chief Constable of Sussex went into the witness box this morning to defend a notice he signed that required people at the Balcombe anti-fracking demonstrations to use a designated protest area. Martin Richards, who retired a week ago from Sussex Police, was giving […]
18th March 2014 The trial starts today of the first Balcombe resident to be arrested at last year’s anti-fracking protests outside Cuadrilla’s oil exploration site in the village. Simon Welsh denies a charge under Section 14 of the Public Order Act of taking part in an assembly but […]
19/2/14 Seven people were arrested for causing harassment, alarm or distress at the Balcombe anti-fracking protests last summer – but none were convicted. Freedom of Information requests revealed that police used Sections 4a and 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 as the grounds for arrests outside Cuadrilla’s […]
The Chief Constable of Sussex, Martin Richards, will be called to give evidence at an anti-fracking trial, which could become a test case for the use of the Public Order Act against protestors. The case involves poet Simon Welsh, the first Balcombe resident to be arrested during the […]
DRILL OR DROP? 